This invention relates generally to couplings, and in particular to couplings that enable the transfer of a service such as electricity, fluids or data between a vehicle and a service port.
In today""s world, motor vehicles such as automobiles, trucks, and motorcycles are typically powered by internal combustion engines. In these vehicles, a liquid fossil fuel such as gasoline is ignited to transform the chemical energy in the fuel into mechanical energy that is used to drive the vehicle. Due to the scarcity of fossil fuels and the pollution from vehicles burning these fuels, alternative fuels and new vehicles powered by these alternative fuels are being developed. For example, new types of vehicles that utilize gaseous fuels are being developed and are expected to enter commercial production within the next decade.
One type of gaseous fuel powered vehicle is a fuel cell vehicle (FCV), which uses a fuel cell to electrochemically generate electricity from hydrogen fuel and uses the electricity to power the vehicle. FCVs may use pure hydrogen delivered directly from a hydrogen fueling station, or may extract hydrogen from a hydrogen-containing fuel. In the latter case, a service terminal may for example, transmit a hydrogen-containing liquid such as methanol to the FCV, for reforming into hydrogen by an on-board methanol reformer. As another example, the FCV may have an on-board electrolyzer that uses electrolysis to extract hydrogen from water molecules supplied to the vehicle by the service terminal.
Because the FCV has different servicing requirements than gasoline-powered vehicles and because no FCV has yet to enter full-scale commercial production, no FCV servicing system is known to exist. Such an FCV servicing system would require service terminals that are configured to service FCVs; for example, an FCV service terminal may have a service port that connects to an FCV and facilitates the exchange of fuel, electricity and possibly data between the FCV and the service port. Providing such an FCV service terminal presents many challenges, including providing cost-effective and efficient systems for connecting the FCV to the service port.
According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a service coupling for coupling a vehicle to a service port such that one or more services are transferable therebetween. The service coupling includes a plug and a receptacle. The plug includes a distal end, a proximal end, a pair of opposed major surfaces extending between the distal and proximal ends, and a service engagement portion on at least one of the major surfaces. The receptacle includes an opening shaped to receive the plug inserted distal-end first, and a service engagement portion inside the receptacle and corresponding with each plug service engagement portion. One of the plug and receptacle service engagement portions is substantially arcuate and the other engagement portion is configured to engage at least some portion of the arcuate engagement portion along the arc-length of the arcuate engagement portion, thereby enabling engagement to be maintained between the plug and receptacle engagement portions when the plug is in a rotational position about the arc-axis of the arcuate engagement portion and that is not perfectly aligned with the receptacle.
At least one plug service engagement portion and at least one receptacle service engagement portion may be electricity exchange interfaces comprising electrical and ground contacts. In such case, the plug electrical contact may be substantially arcuate. In particular, the plug may include a plurality of arcuate electrical contacts all having a common arc-axis. The plug ground contact may be located on the arc-axis. A receptacle electrical contact may be provided for each plug contact; such receptacle electrical contact is a butt-face contact positioned to engage a corresponding plug contact when the plug and receptacle are coupled.
The plug and receptacle service engagement portions may be fluid exchange interfaces and one of the fluid exchange interfaces may include an open-faced arcuate fluid channel and a fluid valve in the channel. In such case, the plug fluid exchange interface may be an arcuate fluid channel with a fluid valve set in the floor of the channel. The receptacle fluid exchange interface may be arcuate land corresponding to the plug fluid channel, with a fluid valve set in the raised surface portion of the land.
The plug fluid channel may be annular. In such case, the receptacle fluid exchange interface may be an annular land corresponding to the plug fluid channel, with a fluid valve set in the raised surface portion of the land.
The exchange fluid may be water or hydrogen gas, or both.
The plug may include a pair of opposed top and bottom major surfaces extending between distal and proximal ends of the plug, and the fluid exchange interface may be on one major surface. The plug may have both electricity and fluid exchange interfaces; the plug electricity exchange interface may be on the plug top major surface and the plug fluid exchange interface may be on the plug bottom major surface.